DIY Barn Wedding – Matt + Jomine’s Story

This wedding got us quite excited! Matt, Jomine and family turned a real kiwi barn into the most amazing DIY reception venue I think we’ve ever come across! And what made it unique was we were invited to video all the preparation in the lead up to their wedding day too!

A DIY BARN WEDDING TILL THE COWS COME HOME!

A video like this doesn’t just happen by turning up the day of the wedding and recording what we see. So here’s some notes on the thought behind the making of this film.

THEIR WEDDING WAS MORE THAN JUST ONE DAY

I caught up with Matt and Jomine a few weeks out from their wedding. They started telling me how the whole family was coming together for a week long DIY working bee to get this barn into shape! Even Jomine’s family from South Africa came over early to be apart of it! Jomine said to me she felt their wedding wasn’t just about “one day” but really it was a whole week leading up to the Saturday wedding. And sometimes that’s how it is. A wedding can be bigger than just one day.

So we talked about the possibility of filming some of the lead up to the wedding day. I knew I could tell a deeper story because of the extra coverage. Matt and Jomine were keen, so it was all go!

GETTING TO KNOW MATT, JOMINE … AND NICO! (JOMINE’S BROTHER)

This is what made their film so unique and meaningful. Through knowing a little more about Matt and Jomine as people, (and not just what their wedding schedule looked like) we managed to find a powerful little story. And it turned out that it included a third person, Jomine’s brother Nico!

Nico and Jomine are brother and sister. And best friends. They know each other better than anyone else does. Hence why Nico was the Man of Honor! Knowing this gave a little more purpose to what we filmed and how the final edit was made up. We weren’t just filming any random event that caught our eye. We understood the dynamic of their family and what was so important to them. This is why I ran my arse off following that paint fight!!!

This continued throughout their wedding day. Jomine writing her speech, Nico printing it out for her. Nico standing by Jomine as she read Matt’s card. The support from their families. The bear hugs, the prayers. The “village of people it takes to get married”. The reactions from Jomine’s family as Matt spoke Afrikaans!

Knowing a little more about who Matt and Jomine were and what really mattered to them meant we could create something greater than just a generic wedding video. The film we made was their personal story told through the event of a DIY barn wedding!

THE MEANING BEHIND THE FINAL EDIT.

This film has two distinct parts to it. It firstly tells a story about Jomine’s close relationship with her brother Nico. Jomine mentions two things in her speech. How well Nico knows her, but also how Matt will now become her best friend and how he will come to know her best. It’s almost a sad part of the story. Jomine has to let go of a best friend in Nico but how she gains a new one in Matt.

Then at 2:05 the video transitions from Nico painting a branch to Matt painting a gate with the words “Matt and Jomine Ayers”. This is the turning point in the story. The music perks up the moment Matt is introduced, and it becomes a story about two people getting married!

Matt speaks to Jomine in Afrikaans. Here’s the translation of what he said: “I am so grateful that you can see the world through the Afrikaans language, and I look forward to understanding it in the same way”. Way to go Matt in knowing Jomine! From here on in Matt is the centre of the story as he prepares for the moment he marries his love!!

The story begins with Nico’s speech to Jomine but ends with last words from Matt as he expresses his hope and excitement for the future they’ll have together as husband and wife.

So that’s the thinking behind the edit anyway!

You’re welcome to stalk us on our Facebook page too. We pretty active over there. 🙂